PAINTING EMOTION . . . A Wild Connection
- Rachel Singleton
- Apr 30
- 3 min read
I remember being stunned when I first realised that many people see Nature as something separate from us—as if we’re not part of it. So when a friend asked me yesterday how I paint emotion, I realised that the answer wasn’t in a technique; it was in how I experience the subject itself.
My friend was asking in response to the Otter painting above - Heart Held. She saw it on Instagram and wanted to know if there was some technique - a particular brush stroke, the curve of a line or a way of painting an eye - that conveyed the emotion that is evident in this painting.
This is such a lovely question to be asked as an artist because it makes me consider and try to express a hidden process. It also shows me that someone is really seeing and thinking about my work.
PAINTING WITH LOVE
When I first realised that many people consider Nature to be something that we are not part of - there are humans and then there is this great wild thing we must work around that is called the natural world - I realised that I had never even considered myself to be separate from Nature.
Since then, I have come to see that there is something dangerous about this perspective:
If we don't consider ourselves part of Nature then we are not invested in cherishing, tending and respecting Nature; instead, our focus is on taming and controlling it.
And yet, for many in our everyday lives, how often do we get to feel close to Nature? How often do we get to spend time with an animal or bird in the wild? Even for me, living in a rural area, it is usually a fleeting encounter. The robin that alights nearby then flits on its way again. The kestrel that hovers on the wind above me as I am driving along. The plump familiar shape of a blackbird in the hedgerow. A glimpse of a fox or badger scurrying down the road.
It is perhaps not surprising then that people don't feel connected to the natural world. We live our lives behind closed doors, insulated from Nature, not in and amongst it.
Okay. So what does this have to do with painting emotion?
THE PALETTE OF FEELING
I realised after my friend asked this question that I am not trying to depict a feeling in my work using some technique or some particular product; I am painting from a feeling and this informs the choices I make at every part of the process.
The feeling is one of connection and love.
When I paint an otter, an owl, or a tiny wren, I get to spend time with this exquisite animal or bird in a way that I rarely experience in the wild. I get to pour over every feather, whisker, tuft of fur and glint of light in the eye. I become absorbed in their essence. And as I do this, as I let go into this connection, I am not a human in a room behind glass and stone, I am a wild spirit at the water's edge, watching the patterning of light on the otters' slick fur as they play. I see the quiver of every detail. I become one with their world and their lives.
And this informs my paint, my brush, my palette. The feeling itself is the palette. A feeling of profound connection for these creatures with whom we share the natural world.
And, when you take a piece of my art into your home, it is my hope that you get that same feeling. That for the moments when you look at the painting, the veils of separation dissolve. You remember that you are part of Nature. That your own soul is wild. And that you are free to love and connect to this very beautiful world heart and soul - and cherish it deeply and fully.
YOUR THOUGHTS
I’d love to hear from you—does my art help you feel closer to Nature? Am I doing my job?!
Let me know. Please feel free to comment if you’d like to share your impressions. Or reach out and contact me if you would like to know more about any of the paintings in this post.
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